eng Science and Education Publishing Journal of Food and Nutrition Research 2333-1240 2019-06-08 7 6 443 446 10.12691/jfnr-7-6-5 JFNR2019765 article P. O. Adeniji adenijio@run.edu.ng 1 T.E. Eyinla 2 Department of Transport and Tourism Studies, Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria Department of Human Nutrition, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria The effects of microbial deterioration and changes in the nutritional contents of preserved and unpreserved fresh cow milk stored at 4°C were investigated. Three different concentrations (0.1%, 0.2% and 0.4%) of preservatives- benzoic acid (BA) and sodium metabisulphite (SM) were evaluated for anti-microbial impact. The bacterial load and nutritional content were assessed and monitored over days for both treated and untreated milk. The results showed that microorganisms would still grow in milk at 4°C with a gradual reduction in nutritional factors. However, upon addition of the selected preservatives, significant reduction in the microbial growth was observed. The efficacy of benzoic acid in reducing bacterial growth was higher across all the levels of treatment especially when 0.4% concentration of both preservatives were applied and compared against untreated milk. The study concludes that the use of chemical preservation can serve the purpose of prolonging the onset of milk spoilage and reduce food safety concerns in dairy production. http://pubs.sciepub.com/jfnr/7/6/5/jfnr-7-6-5.pdf cow milk benzoic acid sodium metabisulphite food spoilage